Felt News

Farrar kicks off October with a win in Belgium!

Thursday, October 01, 2009

France—Team Garmin-Slipstream rider Tyler Farrar got back to his winning ways with a victory at the opening stage of the Franco-Belge stage race on Thursday. Farrar outsprinted Italian Danilo Napolitano and Belgian National Champion Tom Boonen to win the 213km stage from Templeuve to Mouscron, Belgium.

Farrar now holds the overall leader’s jersey in the four-day stage race, which travels through both Belgium and France.

Though many riders have chosen to end the season after last week’s World Championships, a strong field, loaded with sprinters, still turned out for this fall stage race.

After an early breakaway, Farrar’s Garmin-Slipstream teammates took control of the peloton. There were several attacks in the breakaway, which at one point had a gap of more than 11 minutes over the field, but the last of the escapees were swept up by the field just 3km from the finish.

Set up by his Garmin-Slipstream teammates, Farrar powered to the victory in Mouscron, near the Belgium-France border and the town of Roubaix, site of the famous spring classic, Paris-Roubaix.

Friday’s 225km Stage 2 will start in Maubege, France, and then return to finish in Belgium, in the town of Poperinge.